#MathFinder Moment
Here is where we share the math we found in the places we go!
We want to hear from you! Take a look at our photo and our question below – and please respond to our question in the Comments section.
These math questions are based on the photo below contributed by talkSTEM founder and CEO, Dr. Koshi Dhingra.
How tall is the ceiling height of an apartment in a tenement building? How wide is a window? What is the slope of the fire escape ladders? All these and more estimation questions can be answered given that in the late 1800s, the brick size was 9” inches in length, 4” inches in breadth, and 2 ½” inches. What other math questions come to mind about this photo?
Add your ideas about questions relating to patterns, geometry, and other topics in the comments section below!
In future newsletters, we will be profiling your Mathfinder moments! Please share your photos from the places you go (could be anywhere) and your MathFinder questions with us here.
Events
We are excited to announce the launch of our 2023 March Mathness Challenge!
March Mathness will take place during the entire month of March and we will be encouraging kids in grades 4 through 8 and their families to visit any or all of our participating sites, using the free Otocast app to go on app-guided math walks, and also be eligible to win raffle prizes that we will be giving out each week during the month of March! We are looking forward to this collaborative project with our valued partner sites and promoting walks at all of our partner site locations! You can view some of our young students from partner site, St Philip’s School and Community Center discuss here!
Partner Spotlight:
Dallas Museum of Art
Established in 1903, the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is among the 10 largest art museums in the country. With a free general admission policy and community outreach efforts, the DMA is distinguished by its commitment to research, innovation, and public engagement. At the heart of the Museum and its programs is its global collection, which encompasses 25,000 works and spans 5,000 years of history, representing a full range of world cultures. Located in the nation’s largest arts district, the Museum acts as a catalyst for community creativity, engaging people of all ages and backgrounds with a diverse spectrum of programming, from exhibitions and lectures to concerts, literary events, and dramatic and dance presentations. The DMA is an Open Access institution, allowing all works believed to be in the public domain to be freely available for downloading, sharing, repurposing, and remixing without restriction. More information about this partner site is available at dma.org.
The DMA first worked with walkSTEM and talkSTEM in 2017 on a few projects including a training for DMA docents on strategies to connect art to STEM concepts and a math tour of the Dallas Arts District which included a stop at the DMA’s mosaic mural Genesis. Featuring Dr. Glen Whitney, founder of the National Museum of Mathematics in New York, this video explores how artists use math to mix colors. Since then, the DMA has hosted professional development workshops for K-12 teachers led by talkSTEM serving over 130 ISDs, charters, and private schools across 10 north Texas counties. We also worked together to create a special STEM educational guide for the DMA’s 2018 special exhibition Cult of the Machine.
In 2022, the DMA partnered with talkSTEM for the MathFinder Festival to create a guided tour of the Museum using a mathematical lens. The guide explores themes including color mixing using the walkSTEM video about Genesis, perspective, and shapes. You can download a PDF of the tour here. And now the DMA is excited to be a part of the MathFinder Initiative for this unique collaboration that enables us to continue exploring our collection through math.
In the Community:
Meet Bret Turner from Dallas ISD and Voice of Hope
Name: Bret Turner
Role in Organization: 5th Grade Science Teacher at Rosemont Elementary School , Dallas ISD and nature leader at Voice of Hope
Q: What are one or more favorite places you like to go to in the city of Dallas?
A: My favorite place to visit in Dallas is Twelve Hills Nature Center. Twelve Hills is an oasis in the city. It is a glimpse into our past, a view of what a Blackland Prairie would have looked like before we settled this area years ago. Just being able to walk through nature to me is the best thing for your mind.
Q: What is your dream vacation?
A: My dream vacation would be backpacking through southern Italy during the spring.
Q: When you aren’t working, what is something that you love to do?
A: I really enjoy spending time with my family by going on road trips throughout Texas. Just a simple day trip allows us to experience something new and unique about the state we live in.
Resources
Please click here to check out the Mathfinder website! Click here to sign-up to receive occasional emails regarding Mathfinder news and updates!
Podcast
Click here to listen to the MathFinder podcast on our website. New episodes will be coming later this spring. You can also listen to our podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, and any other podcast streaming platform!
Project Updates
New math walks have been designed at three of our partner sites! You can take an in-person, app-guided math walk with the aid of the freely downloadable app, Otocast, that will help to navigate you OR you can go on a virtual math walk at each of these or our other sites using the video guides on this website. Just click on the “Our Videos” tab to do so, then click on the “Specific Place” search box to view the dropdown menu.
- At Twelve Hills Nature Center in Oak Cliff, take a walk to look at some of the plant life there through the lens of Geometry, which is the math theme we used there. You’ll meet a middle school student volunteer and also a board member from the organization who will be your guides.
- At Voice of Hope Ministries in West Dallas, take a walk to look at the basketball court, the field and some other favorite spaces on the campus through the lens of the math theme of Estimation, Scale and Proportion. You’ll meet several Voice of Hope families who will guide you through their spaces.
- At the Dallas Museum of Art (coming very soon), take a walk to look at five incredible artworks in the permanent collection through the lens of the math theme of Math Patterns. You’ll meet several DMA staff members and high school student volunteers who will guide you through these artworks.
Research is scheduled and taking place at these three sites this spring. We are grateful to our partner sites for working closely with us to make research possible and also to make the learning experiences for the kids at each site a great experience for all involved!
- Training at Twelve Hills Nature Center took place on Feb 27 and the research camp will take place there and at Rosemount School, Dallas ISD on March 13-15.
- Training at Voice of Hope Ministries will take place on March 18 and the research camp will take place there on March 30-April 1.
- Training at DMA is not yet scheduled and the research camp will take place there during the week of June 5.
Partner Site Happenings
Here is what’s happening at our partner sites in November and December:
Dallas Arboretum
Have you ever wondered why leaves grow the way they do, noticed recurring patterns in nature, or thought about the space needed to plant tulip bulbs? Come immerse yourself in our nature-based math walk and enjoy a garden that is bursting with color during Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum. Open to the public February 25- April 16, 2023. For more information and tickets, please visit dallasarboretum.org
Dallas Museum of Art
Toddler Tuesday: Welcome to the Jungle – Tuesday, March 7
Late Night: Movement – Friday, March 31
Pop of Art: It’s-a-Me! – Friday, March 10
Arts & Letters Live: Adam Gopnik – Thursday, March 23
Make & Take: Magritte and Collage – Friday, March 24
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas
GSNETX will be implementing MathFinder activities at our annual Girl Scout Grand Slam with the Frisco Rough Riders on April 22nd. Because this is Earth Day, we’ll be focusing on our environment and how elements of STEM can be found all around us. This will be the perfect opportunity for our girls to become familiar with MathFinder.
Spread the Word
We are grateful for your continued support and would appreciate your help sharing MathFinder with the larger community! Please forward this newsletter to anyone in your network who may be interested in receiving our updates. They can also join our mailing list here.
Guest Blog
Thank you Anna Pickett from Dallas Arboretum for your thought-provoking set of blog posts! Click here to see part 2, which was recently uploaded to our site! Click here to read Part 1.
Are you interested in writing a guest blog post for our future newsletters? If so, we would love to hear from you! We are open to a wide range of possible topics that you could write about. Examples include different mathfinder activities at your site, learning math in general at your site, your perspective on learning, etc.! Please reach out to koshi@talkstem.org and hannah@talkstem.org to share your ideas.
Guest blog submission guidelines:
- Word count should be approximately 300-800 words
- Videos and photos are encouraged
- Cite any quotes, data, images, or third party content used